They are among the rarest animal species on the planet…and now they are gone.
The skeletal remains of two beautiful white giraffes that lived at a Kenyan wildlife sanctuary were found by rangers on Tuesday.
The Ishaqbini Hirola Conservancy stated that the mother giraffe and her calf had been killed by poachers. The Kenya Wildlife Service was called to the reserve after it was reported the giraffes hadn’t been seen in quite a while. Upon finding the bones, wildlife officials estimated they had been there for at least four months.
“This is a very sad day for the community of Ijara and Kenya as a whole. We are the only community in the world who are custodians of the white giraffes,” said Mohammed Ahmednoor, manager of the reserve in Garissa County, Kenya, in a news release.
They described the killing as “a blow to tremendous steps taken by the community to conserve rare and unique species,” as well as “a wake-up call for continued support to conservation efforts.”
Just one white giraffe, a bull, remains.